1,721,056 research outputs found
Sufism in Europe Islam, Esotericism and the New Age
No full textSufism, the spiritual, mystical, and esoteric dimension of Islam, is experiencing a renewal in the 21st century. Charismatic Sufi masters have been able to revitalise their language, attracting new disciples and going beyond their cultural-geographic framework. This book describes the development of Sufism in Western Europe, particularly in France and Italy, through extended empirical research based on participant observation in four Sufi orders. The author illustrates the different forms of hybridisation between the Islamic-Sufi tradition and Western esoteric discourses, in particular the Guenonian-Traditionalist and the New Age discourse. These hybridisations often involve the creation of new doctrines, rituals, and organizational structures, and produce different universalist discourses, which imply different Sufi politics in Europe, such as a lack of interest due to an imminent eschatology, civic engagement, and metapolitical elitism
Between real and virtual communities: Sufism in Western societies and the Naqshbandi Haqqani case
No full textSufism, the mystical/esoteric Islamic path of soul purification, is spreading extensively throughout Western societies. The internet is one of the most important vehicles of this diffusion. This article first describes the use of the internet in four European Sufi orders, underlining how the internet: (1) is an instrument of promotion, information and knowledge about Islam and Sufism; (2) reduces the distance between disciples and Masters; (3) is a digital space where religious experiences are reaffirmed, not lived. The second section of the article concerns the Naqshbandi Haqqani case, which is completely different from the other orders studied. For some Naqshbandi disciples, the internet is also a place in which to practise religion through rituals, prayer requests, initiation and religious experiences. Through an analysis of this particular use of the internet, the author explores the transformation of European Sufism both in the frame of post-modern religiosity and in the frame of transnationalism
Les politiques du soufisme en France : le cas de la Qādiriyya Būdshīshiyya
Full text link© The Author(s) 2019. In this article I analyse the politics of the Qādiriyya Būdshīshiyya Sufi order in France. I will consider the cultural activities based in Paris and the activities of public figures such as the rapper Abd Al Malik and Senator Bariza Khiari. These activities can be described as a form of post-Islamist engagement following Asef Bayat. In this political frame, democratic values, understood as acceptance of religious, ethnic and cultural, as well as community participation in the regulation of living together, are not only accepted but are mostly viewed as intrinsically Islamic. Furthermore, I challenge the stereotype of Sufism considered as privatized and without any impact on the public sphere.status: Published onlin
Thinking with Bruno Latour: Toward a Renovated Sociology of Religion
No full textThis article discusses how Bruno Latour’s sociology of associations can
help renovate the sociology of religion and its subfields of spirituality,
mysticism, and esotericism. It proposes a moratorium on the idea of
modernity and its relative theories on secularisation, spiritualisation, and
commodification, arguing for a renovated focus on ethnographical fieldwork.
Drawing on from Latour, this article suggests seeing the sociology
of religion as comprising metaphysics, which has often been forgotten
through a focus on power struggles. It suggests that the methodology of
religious discourses could be crucial, avoiding descriptivism and hyper-specialisation
and offering a tool that can be applied to different religious
and cultural contexts. Furthermore, this article suggests that artistic
products in popular culture are not only receptacles of social forces but
could be seen as nonhuman actors, capable of producing new religious
doctrines and practices. To conclude, this article discusses the ethical and
political implications of Latour’s sociology of association, showing how its
bottom-up
approach favours a postcolonial approach to subjectivities and
commensurability
Le développement du soufisme en Europe. Au-delà de l'antinomie tradition et modernité
No full textLe soufisme (taçawwuf en Arabe), le parcours de purification de l'âme dans la religion islamique, se diffuse actuellement largement en Europe Occidentale et cela dans différents domaines : 1) culturel (vaste production de musique, de livres et de séminaires soufis) ; 2) intellectuel (large développement de la littérature académique) ; 3) au sein des mouvements religieux (accroissement numérique des groupes soufis) ; 4) social et politique, (les maîtres soufis et leurs représentants sont de plus en plus des points des repères, tant pour les musulmans que pour les institutions politiques). Cette recherche sur le développement du soufisme se focalise en particulier sur la France et l'Italie (2013-2014). La méthodologie empruntée est l'ethnographie, complétée par quatre-vingt entretiens qualitatifs. Les organisations soufies étudiées sont : l'ʾAlàwiyya, la Būdshīshiyya, la Naqshbandiyya Hāqqaniya, l'Ahmadiyya-Idrïsiyya Shādhiliyya et la Jerrahiyya-Khalvetiyya. Les organisations soufies demeurent encore un sujet peu exploré. Elles ne correspondent pas aux catégories sociologiques d'église, de secte et de groupe mystique (Troeltsch et Weber), ni aux nouveaux mouvements religieux (Wilson). Cette recherche, élaborée à partir de deux ans d'observation ethnographique, s'articule sur trois niveaux : 1) les trajectoires de conversion à l'Islam à travers le soufisme ; 2) l'organisation et les activités des confréries soufies ; 3) le rôle politico-social et culturel du soufisme en Europe. Cette recherche permet d'appréhender sous un autre angle les thématiques de la modernité religieuse européenne, le processus de sécularisation et la formation de l'Islam européen
“Spirituality and Comics in Hugo Pratt, Alan Moore, and David B.: Esotericism as “unsettled knowledge”
Full text linkThis article describes the artistic production and intellectual and spiritual life of three of the most important artists in the field of comics and graphic novels: Hugo Pratt, Alan Moore, and David B. These artists share a common interest in esotericism: they have participated in esoteric and alternative spiritualitygroups,and in their artistic worksthey reproduce esoteric symbols, narratives, and doctrines.Scholars in religious studies have already described theconnectionsbetween contemporary art and esotericism, arguing that artists are “spiritual seekers”who representtheir spiritual quest.This articlegoes beyond such a perspective by describing how esotericism has changed in contemporary societies and,in particular,within the frame of comics and graphic novels.Esotericism is generally understood as a “rejected”, “absolute”, and “stigmatised” form of knowledge, characterisedby elitism andsecrecy.The esotericism of these artists (both in their life and in their artworks)is not “rejected”;on the contrary,it has become mainstream, with best-seller publications and museum exhibitions. Furthermore, it is not“absolute”or “hidden”;rather,it reveals doubt and deconstructs religion and spirituality, sometimeseven challengingor mockingthem. For these artists, esotericism is a form of “unsettled knowledge”, a never-ending quest for transcendenceanda means of learning about the unconsciousand humankind.It finds its legitimisation inreligious texts, revelations,and religious movements, but mainly in the power of storytelling. This article argues that the blurring between reality and narrationdoes not imply a process of disenchantment,nora“hyper-religion”, insteadrepresentinganother form of spirituality in contemporary societies. Finally, this“unsettled knowledge”is also unsettling for the reader, who is challenged by theseartworksandfinds in themwondrous, dazzling,and dreamlikeexperience
Pilgrimages in Western European Sufism
No full textIn this chapter I discuss Western European Sufism through the lens of pilgrimage, and I ask: what forms, what values, and what meanings does pilgrimage have within the Western European Sufi frame? First of all, we will notice that whereas the cult of saints and worship at tombs is quite widespread in African and Asian forms of Sufism (Werbner 2003; Rhani 2013), these ritual practices seem secondary in Western European Sufism. The main reason for undertaking a pilgrimage in the West European context is, instead, to meet the living charismatic Sufi master. Secondly, we will see how pilgrimage can be an instrument of interfaith and intrafaith dialogue and a manifestation of the social and political role played by the Sufi orders. Thirdly, we will see how the universalistic spirit of some Sufi orders encouraged Sufi disciples to perform Christian pilgrimages. And finally, I argue that communitas should not simply be associated with the liminal state of pilgrimage (cf. Turner 1974). In the case of Sufi pilgrimage, I argue, communitas might also be experienced in the pre- and post-liminal stages of the rituals
Entrare nel sé divino: un confronto etnografico comparato, tra mistica cristiana e mistica musulmana in {Italia}
No full textUna riflessione sul misticismo comparat
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